1 Gentle Jesus, meek and mild,
look upon a little child,
pity my simplicity,
suffer me to come to thee.
2 Fain I would to thee be brought;
gracious Lord, forbid it not;
in the kingdom of thy grace
give a little child a place.
3 Fain I would be as thou art;
give me thy obedient heart;
thou art pitiful and kind;
let me have thy loving mind.
4 Let me above all fulfill
God my heavenly Father’s will;
never his good Spirit grieve;
only to his glory live.
5 Lamb of God, I look to thee;
thou shalt my example be;
thou art gentle, meek and mild;
thou wast once a little child.
6 Thou didst live to God alone;
thou didst never seek thine own;
thou thyself didst never please:
God was all thy happiness.
7 Loving Jesus, gentle Lamb,
in thy gracious hands I am;
make me, Saviour, what thou art,
live thyself within my heart.
8 I shall then show forth thy praise,
serve thee all my happy days;
then the world shall always see
Christ, the holy Child, in me.
Source: CPWI Hymnal #646
First Line: | Gentle Jesus, meek and mild, Look upon a little child |
Title: | Gentle Jesus |
Author: | Charles Wesley (1767) |
Meter: | 7.7.7.7 |
Place of Origin: | United Kingdom |
Language: | English |
Copyright: | Public Domain |
Gentle Jesus, meek and mild. C. Wesley. [A Child's Prayer.] First published in Hymns & Sacred Poems, 1742; and again in Hymns for Children, 1763, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines. Following it is another hymn, marked pt. ii, and beginning, "Lamb of God, I look to Thee," also in 7 stanzas of 4 lines, thus accounting for the statement sometimes made that the original is in 14 stanzas. Centos from both parts are found in most collections for children in English-speaking countries, and are exceedingly popular with the young. The construction of each cento may be traced by a reference to the original text in Poetical Works, 1868-72, vol. vi. p. 441, No. 336. "Lamb of God," &c, in the Methodist Sunday School Hymn Book, 1879, is entirely from pt. ii., whilst "Gentle Jesus, meek and mild," is compiled from both.
Other arrangements are:—
(1) “Loving Jesus, gentle Lamb," in the American Methodist Episcopal Hymns, 1849; and (2) "Holy Jesus, Saviour mild," in the Bonchurch Hymn Book, 1868.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)